North Fork Valley residents unhappy about federal drilling

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) -- After deferring plans to lease 30,000 acres for oil and gas development in the North Fork Valley, the federal government is going ahead with plans to lease parcels on two-thirds of that acreage.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management said Friday that following further analysis, it has decided to offer parcels on about 20,555 acres in the Paonia, Hotchkiss and Crawford areas for oil and gas leasing Feb. 14.

The decision angered some residents. Conservationists, local governments and members of the area's agricultural and tourism industries had raised concerns about leasing near the area's wineries, ranches and organic farms.

The BLM says that with required mitigation measures, effects on air and water quality are not expected to be significant.

KKCO firmly believes in freedom of speech for all and we are happy to provide this forum for the community to share opinions and facts. We ask that commenters keep it clean, keep it truthful, stay on topic and be responsible. Comments left here do not necessarily represent the viewpoint of KKCO 11News.

Online Public Information File

Viewers with disabilities can get assistance accessing this station's FCC Public Inspection File by contacting the station with the information listed below. Questions or concerns relating to the accessibility of the FCC's online public file system should be directed to the FCC at 888-225-5322, 888-835-5322 (TTY), or fccinfo@fcc.gov.